On the Road
by skyfire146
Summary: A series on one-shots of things you didn't see during Marth's journey to free his homeland. Mostly will be between the battles. Primarily Marth x Caeda, but I'll probably add more shippings later on.
1. Chapter 1

Marth, Prince of Altea, stood alone.

But, Abel reflected, he usually did. It wasn't that he wasn't able to get along with his troops or hold a conversation. He was a prince and things were different for him. It was the bane of royalty. He wasn't quite one of them, at least not yet, but he had their utter respect. It was a difficult position to be in, especially after losing everything.

Abel looked away from his commander, back out to sea, as the ship rocked beneath them. They had just escaped their invaded country. Marth's father, their king, had been killed by enemy forces. Princess Elice had stayed behind and no one knew what would happen to her. And they had left behind Frey, one of the bravest fighters Abel had ever known. To say it was a blow to the heart wouldn't be strong enough wording.

It was the shame, Abel decided, that was the worst. They ran. Fled. They lived to fight another day. However you wanted to word it, they ran away. He hated it. Sure, it was necessary perhaps. If Abel hadn't been ordered to get Marth out, he would have fought until his last breathe to protect his country. He easily could've been one of the fallen soldiers, if not for his assignment to Marth. It was weird to think of it that way, although it was true.

"He's had a tough past few days, don't you think?" Cain voiced as he came up beside Abel, holding on to the ship's railing in front of him.

"I'd say," Abel retorted, looking over at his cousin. Cain's red hair was brushed back by the wind coming across the sea and the slowly-healing gash on his forehead was plainly visible. It was one of many painful reminders of the battle where they had lost their king, and Marth his father.

"Who would've known," Cain said quietly, "that it would turn out this way." There was a moment of silence in which neither knew what would be appropriate to say. However, it didn't feel like some things needed saying.

But there were more pressing questions at hand, questions that Abel could not ignore. "Do you think he'll be enough?" He asked, nodding his head toward the grieving prince. He liked Marth. He was a good prince, but would he make a good commander? The future was too uncertain right now. During their escape, he had been too stunned sometimes to lead them. There were conflicting emotions in the way, but obviously that was understood after going through what he did. He was still younger, younger than Abel, and it would be expected.

Cain nodded confidently. "He'll be more than enough. I have a feeling that he'll exceed everyone's expectations."

Abel paused for a moment, his doubts still not quelled. He hadn't fought with the king like Cain had. He was no paladin like Jagen. He didn't sacrifice himself for Marth as Frey had. He had not been of huge importance back at the palace. But now he had a chance. He had a chance to plan and perfect and strike back when the time was right. He wondered how he happened upon this chance, out of all the other people who could've. When Cain convinced him to join the cavalry a few years ago, he had never pictured himself as doing this. All he knew was that if they could pull this off, it would be worth every moment of their miserable escape. "How do you know that?" He asked, unsure.

"Frey," Cain said simply with a stroke of sorrow.

The explanation was so simple, yet so effective. A single word completely explained Cain's unmoving faith that Marth was someone they could all count on and even look up to. If Frey believed in the prince enough to sacrifice his life, than the rest of the group could too. Frey and all the others who lost their lives or their freedom would only serve as motivation. Until they took back Altea and put Marth on the throne where he truly belonged, there was no peace of mind for the warriors.

Abel realized all this in silence, as Cain glanced back over at the prince. Still, he stood alone, against the backdrop of a cloudy sky and Cain realized what a picture he made. Today was one of the bad days, but he could suffer through all the bad days if they could just have their day, their one day, the only one they really needed. The day they would free Altea.

* * *

**So, what do you guys think? As the summary said, I'm planning on doing a series of one-shots of things that happen in between the stages and maybe some during the stages as well. And I always saw Cain and Abel as related somehow, so I figured cousins ought to do it. I've only played Shadow Dragon, as far as the whole Fire Emblem franchise goes, so if I make a few mistakes here or there, just let me know. This is just a short little something, but they'll most likely get longer. However I feel at the moment, I guess. Hope you enjoyed! Bye! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews, guys! Here's the next chapter, which is a bit lighter than the last one. ;) Enjoy!**

"Nice attack, Prince Marth, now hold your defense. Remember though, the best defense is a good offense. Keep your opponent focused only on defending himself and you're sure to win the battle. An opponent fighting to not lose is different from one fighting to win. Abel, watch your footwork there!"

Abel backed off from his practice battle with Marth for a moment, wiping his brow. "I know, Sir Jagen. I guess I'm just used to having a horse underneath me," he explained ruefully, knowing that he had no excuse for his slow moving reactions. If he ever actually had to fight Marth, he would definitely prefer being on horseback. Any doubts he had previously nurtured concerning the legitimacy of his commander had long been vanished. The prince had been working on his battle skills with Jagen in the morning and having tactical studies with Malledus in the afternoon. He had proved himself to be a quick thinker and strong opponent. The Alteans had carved out a nice little life for themselves here in Talys, but they all knew what they were preparing for.

Cain held back a grin as he replaced Abel in the practice battle. "Yeah, I'd like to see you do better," Abel scoffed. "Go ahead. You know how quick Prince Marth is."

Marth grinned. "Please. It's only because you have both been on your horses so long, you've practically melded to them."

Cain gripped the wooden practice sword tightly, getting in his battle-ready stance. "Alright, prince. Show me what you've got."

Marth started the match out with a quick downward stroke, which Cain deftly blocked, staying composed. The Altean prince quickly followed it up with a horizontal slice, which Cain again brought his sword around to block. A thrust was next, which Cain managed to parry to the side and hit his own counterstrike at Marth's midsection, which Marth dodged. Then, it was Cain inferior footwork that had gotten him into trouble, as he found a wall right at his back. With no room to work with, the next twisting strike of Marth's wooden blade disarmed him.

Abel grinned at the classic look on Cain's face. "He had been forcing you toward the wall the whole time," he said gleefully, apparently glad that he wasn't the only one losing to Marth.

Cain shook his head remorsefully, backing out of the dirt-packed battle arena. "You keep on learning fencing, sire. I'll keep to my horse."

Even Jagen cracked a smile at that, but they were interrupted by another voice. "Could I give it a go?"

Marth turned to see a smiling Caeda, the Princess of Talys, whom he had grown very close to the past couple years. "Oh, uh, hello Caeda," he greeted her, tripping over his words a bit in his surprise. How did she always manage to look so good?

"So? Can I? Give me one of those practice swords, Cain," she motioned for one and Cain obliged, grinning. This was going to be good.

"So, the Prince of Altea think he's all that, huh?" Caeda grinned at the surprised prince, giving the wooden sword a few experimental swings.

"Uh, Caeda, I know you're a very good fighter, but I wouldn't want anything to happen. I mean, Ogma would be all over me if I hurt you and we both know that I don't need that and-" He blocked in surprise as Caeda tried a overhead swing.

Caeda laughed, going for a thrust this time. "C'mon, Marth, I really want to have some fun. This will be my only day out of the palace this week."

Marth slid to the side, dodging her thrust and retaliating with a horizontal slice. "Where's Ogma?"

"I managed to lose him when we took a detour through the armory. He always gets side-tracked by the new weapons." Caeda skipped to the side of Marth's slice, moving forward at him with a downward swing. The two swords met in midair with a thud, then slid off each other as they continued the battle.

"You do seem to have a talent for sneaking," Marth commented, grinning. He tried to maneuver Caeda toward the wall, as he had Cain, but she danced out of the way. She was a bit lighter on her feet than the cavalier.

"Me, a princess? Never." Caeda laughed, clashing up close with Marth as they stood eye to eye for a moment, straining against each other. Marth gave a push and Caeda was sent flying back, landing on her butt.

"Oh, sorry, Caeda, I didn't-" But his apology was cut off by another swing from the princess of Talys as she got up.

"Right," Marth shrugged, continuing the battle.

Meanwhile, Cain and Abel had their heads together as they watch the two go at it. "I mean, honestly, he always seems to be enjoying himself whenever she's around," Abel commented. "It's obvious that's going to happen soon."

Cain shook his head, shrugging. "Hm, I agree, but it depends on the timing. I don't know if our little princeling is all that comfortable with a declaration of love. He's not been all that smooth with the ladies."

"Well, I haven't seen you making any declarations of love either, cousin," Abel retorted, giving Cain a critical sideways glance.

"Only because I haven't found the right girl," Cain shot back, sending back a glare.

"Meaning that none of them will take you," Abel grinned, sounding smug.

"I swear, I'm going to kill you one of these days," Cain muttered darkly, shaking his head.

Jagen watched the sparring battle with interest, liking that Prince Marth had found someone who he truly enjoyed being with. He had taught the prince most of what he himself knew about sword-fighting, seeing as he was primarily a paladin anyway. There wasn't much left he could teach.

"I figured I'd find her here," Jagen heard a grumbling from beside him and turned to find that Captain Ogma had come up beside him, looking grumpy that he had been given the slip again.

"Well, she's giving Marth some good training. Is that your doing?" Jagen asked, figuring that Ogma had taught Caeda a thing or two.

"It sure is," Ogma answered proudly. His face, which seemed hard and unyielding, lit up at the mention of his charge. "I was a gladiator for a while before Princess Caeda found me. I figured that if I could teach her a few things, she wouldn't be such easy prey to those who'd want to do her harm."

"She's good," Jagen nodded, thinking for a moment. "Would you mind maybe teaching Marth for a day or two, just to show him some new tricks?"

"I'd love to, sir," Ogma replied, watching the battle with new interest and looking for any faults of Marth he could correct. Fortunately or unfortunately, there weren't too many.

"Goodness, Marth, when did you get so good," Caeda gasped as she retrieved her wooden sword from where Marth had sent it flying off to.

"Well," Marth grinned, "while you were in the palace for a week, doing whatever princesses of Talys do when they are grounded, I was out here training."

The princess rolled her eyes, hefting the wooden sword in her hands. "Well, I'll just have to make up for lost ground," she mock-sighed, coming at Marth again with a stroke of her sword. Marth blocked, grinning, and realized that he couldn't remember feeling more carefree than this moment, when he had left his troubles behind on the practice field. However, trouble was coming faster than he thought and the next time he and Caeda met wouldn't be so carefree.

Tomorrow would be day one of Marth's fight to free his homeland, so any uncorrected faults would have to stand. Regardless, when push came to shove, Prince Marth and the beginnings of his army would know how to shove.


End file.
